Rescued a sick FBT, won't eat. Any help would be great!

[monster]

The one thing I find the most from the green sphagnum to the white is that the white New Zealand sphagnum moss is almost scentless compared to the smell of the green. When I had my fire belly toads I bought the green the first time I went moss shopping, couldn't stand the smell so I took it out. I went back and got the white and what a difference.

[privet01]

Actually I was wrong. When I was over by the FBT's viv, I looked at the package with the unused brick of moss . What I have is from Exo-Terra and they call it Forest Moss. Claims to be "totally" safe for all sorts, including frogs. It's worked well for me ever since my first FBT six or so years ago. It does strong smell when you get your nose in it, but it's a individual thing as to whether it's unpleasant of not. I do have to replace it about two times a year as it starts to rot eventually.

[leo]

privet,

Yeah that's the exact kind of moss I had to buy. He spends much more time on the land now than he did before so I assume he likes it too. It doesn't smell bad to me. Infact that was the effect I was going for because I grew up in Kentucky and Tennessee and it's almost like a little patch of home in the city.

Thank you all very much for your help! I'm glad I've been able to get it right.

[jasonm96]

Privet,

Fire belly toads are diurnal toads that are well known to bask. They do best under UVB lighting and it's not like a UVB bulb costs a fortune. Also, I'm not sure but regular shop lights might produce the wrong rays and be dangerous, it's better playing it safe and getting a bulb you know what it emits and how much UVB. http://www.exo-terra.com/en/explore/uv_rating_index.php

Exo Terra claims that moss is safe but I've had a horned frog get impacted on it and I had to bath it and it crapped out the fibres within a few hours. I fed the frog with tongs but because the moss is so lose and has small strands it's easily picked up. Sphagnum or cushion moss is best

[privet01]

Well remember the OP said he's spent about as much as he wants to budget on this fbt's care for the present. So $8.00 as opposed to $50.00 might be managable.

I'm just talking about a 15 watt T8 bulb that fits most standard Aquarium light kits for ten gallon tanks. It's not like I don't know what "rays" it's putting out. As I said, I found where GE publishes on their website the spectrum analysis for the different phospor coatings they put in their flourescent lights. And comparing them to what I can find out about the specialty bulbs that are sold specifically to give UV to your herps and such, I find the price more to my liking.

Just because FBT's or any other frog likes to bask doesn't mean they need a special basking light outside of what illuminates the rest of the viv. They just need a special place to do it such as a taller rock that gets them closer to the light source.

And from the looks of the OP's tank it's not more than a 10 gallon tank which also is the size of mine. Additional light sources are going to add to the heat in the viv, which in a 10 gallon adds up quickly. FBT's don't need additional heating. Mine do fine between 68F and 74F. And colder won't hurt them either as one of the ways to get them to breed is to stick the female in a container and leave her in the refrigerator for a few days.

Now if you are talking additional basking lights in a larger viv, I'm all for it. Just so long as the overall temp in the viv is able to stay low. They are not tropical pets.

As for impaction...... well I'm sure every one that keeps herps for long enough will have one get impacted. Sure we can try to minimize the chance, but still it's going to happen.

[leo]

Finally someone reads what I said.

Thank you, Jason for your input. All in all I've spent about $200 getting all I need to give him a good home, which puts a dent in my tuition that I didn't want, but it's not about the money, it's about the life. Having said that, I can't justify getting a light at this point for a $5 frog. I know it sounds ****ty to say, but that's the reality of being broke.

I am looking to get a 60 gallon with a cabinet so I can try a fully planted terrarium style thing. If I happen to get that I will also get what I need to make sure he's as ideal as possible, but I also have 7 other herps that need my money. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep it in mind.

[privet01]

Although now that I've looked into it further, it seems that the UV bulbs that are being sold for herps and reptiles have come down in price dramatically since I looked at them last year. But still in a small viv, I'd just use a one light system with a tube that also puts out UV. GE doesn't make it easy to find the info for the light spectrums, but they do publish it. Both the wavelength and strength.

The FBT's can't read the charts from zoo-med, but I'm sure they can figure out how long they want to bask and how close to the light they want to get. We just need to give them the means to do it.

[jasonm96]

I never said anything needed a basking light (though the toads would enjoy it) I said they are known to bask in the wild, meaning they would receive UVB from the sun, like they would with a UVB bulb. I know they aren't tropical animals, I keep mine at a steady 75F just now. Hmm, I just wouldn't chance it, I'd rather pay £10-£20 more on a bulb and know it's the right one.

If you decide to take on an animal, look up the latest care from good sources and get the equipment needed before getting the animal or be prepared to pay additional costs and be in an awkward situation but I've found a lot of it to be trial and errors along the way. I'm guilty of underestimating how much frogs would cost to keep when I first started out but I paid the cost and I've spent a lot of money on my frogs and I ain't well off. I understand you're in a bad situation but I don't understand how you can bring the price of the animal into the situation. You can keep them without UVB, it's been done but it's been proven that it benefits them and all diurnal animals share a relationship with the sun. Ideally, I'd recommend when you have the money just get a cheap light dome and 5% uvb, in the mean time make sure dust with calcium with D3